The Opposition on Tuesday invoked BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and remind him of 'rajdharma', as it accused him of taking a "vow of silence" over crucial issues such as the ethnic violence in Manipur.

Initiating the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha, Congress member Gaurav Gogoi recalled that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Gujarat after the 2002 communal riots.

"Why did he (Prime Minister Modi) take about 80 days to speak on Manipur and (he) just spoke for 30 seconds. After that there has been no peace appeal on Manipur from him. Ministers are saying they will speak, but as prime minister, the power of his words cannot be matched by ministers," Gogoi said.

"When people were gasping for breath during the Covid second wave, the prime minister was seeking votes in West Bengal. When women were being assaulted in Manipur, the prime minister was seeking votes in Karnataka. What kind of nationalism is this that places power above the nation," the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha said.

Later, participating in the debate, DMK member TR Baalu said late Vajpayee stood behind 'rajdharma', "...but today we cannot stand behind them when women were striped and paraded naked".

"The whole world has condemned happenings in Manipur. The EU parliament has discussed this and the British parliament has condemned Prime Minister Modi and his party very strongly," he claimed.

The DMK leader said he is supporting the no-confidence motion because "we want to kill evil".

"Krishna advised that you are not killing your friends but evil ... the same thing I am doing. There was no other way than to bring a no-confidence motion to get the presence of prime minister in the House," he said.

He also alleged "step-motherly" attitude towards Tamil Nadu.

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